448 
are extremely numerous in all the plains 
which are watered by the rivers Amazon, 
Oroonoko, and Rionegro... There is a 
prodigious number of different f{pecies 
which are very-little known: Humboldt 
and Bonpland affirm that, notwithftanding 
the great number of apes deftribed by 
naturalifts, it is probable not more than a 
tenth part of the {pecies which exift is yet 
known. ‘The Leoncito, Simita Leoninas 
defcribed in their firftt Number, is a {mall 
beautiful fpecies of ape, which does not 
exceed feven or eight inches in length, ex- 
clufive of the tail, which is equally as 
long as, the body. It has a mane like 
the lion, on which account it has been 
termed Leovcito. It is found at Mocoa, 
in the ditri& of Popayan: it is of a pale 
red “colour, inclining to yellow, with a 
whitith {pot over the nofe: itis extremely 
{portive and vivacious: its whittling re- 
fembles the finging of birds, which led 
M. Humboldt to fuppofe that tHe con- 
formation of its larynx is analogous to 
theirs. The leoncito is very eafily tamed, 
and in feveral places is the only domeftic 
animal to be found. 
GrEorrroy of St. Hilaire, Profeffor 
to the Botanic Garden at Paris, has given 
the name of Hydromis, to a new {pecies 
of Mammalia, found in the province of 
Tucuman in Paraguay, where it is known 
under the appellation of Guowyia. It 
appears that Commerfon had been ac- 
quainted with this animal, for he has 
given a reprefentation of it under the 
name of Myopotamus bonarienfis; and 
Molina, who difcovered it in the waters 
of Chili, calls it Coypou. Geoffroy dif- 
covered a great humber of the fkins in 
the houfe of a merchant at Paris, who in- 
formed him that he fometimes received 
from fifteen to twenty thoufand of them 
annually. In the manufaéture of hats, 
they fubftitute the fur for that of the beaver, 
which is of late become extremely fcarce. 
‘This animal is known in commerce under 
the name of Racoonda, derived from that 
of racoon; an appellation which in Eng- 
land is given to an animal of North Ame- 
rica. Geoffroy difiinguifhes three {pecies 
of Hydromis : 
3. Hydromis coypou. It is one foot, 
Dine inches and a half long; its colour is of 
a reddifh-brown upon the back, and of a 
dirty-red under the belly, Inhabits Chili, 
Paraguai, and Tucuman. 
2. Hydromis, with a yellow belly. This 
fpecies is only half the fize of the former. 
It is found in the ifland of Maria, near the 
ftrait of Entrecaftaux. 
3. Hydromis, with a white belly. It is 
- Kiterary and Philofophical Intélligence’ 
{ June 7; 
of the fame fize as the laft; and is likee’ 
wife found in the ifland of Maria. Perom 
and Sueur, brought home four individuals 
of this’laft fpecies; found in the ifland of 
Maiia. ie : 
The hydromis ought to be placéd between 
the beaver and water-rat.—Its feet are palm- 
ated behind : two incifive teeth in each jaw: 
three molares in each row. 
VAILLANT continues to profécute his 
African Ornithology. The 25th and 26th 
livraifons ate already publifhed ;~ they ter- 
minate the third volume of this fplendid 
work.-Hé has fikewife publifhed the 
23d livraifon of his Hiftory of Perro- 
quets. The 24th livraifon, which coh- 
cludes the work; will foon make its ap- 
X pearance, 
Hvu™MEOLDT atid BoNPLAND have ob-, 
ferved that, in the Cordilleras there are 
lakes mote than 2600 toifes above the 
level of the fea; but they contain few 
fiflhes. The lakes of Mexico, which do 
not exceed 1160 toifes, contain only two 
fpecies of fifh ; thofe in the valley of Bo- 
gota, nearly 1387 toifes above the level 
of the fea, likewife contain two fpecies, 
known in the country under the names of 
capitaine and guapucha. This laft is a 
{pecies. of Atherine, and the other forms 
a new genus, termed by Humboldt Ere- 
mophile. Its body is long, and refembles 
_that of an eel: its colour is of a bluifh- 
grey, {potted with green: it has a circus 
or beard, near the mouth: its length is 
from ten to twelve inches.—In Pulafe, a 
{mall river near Popayan, is found another 
-{pecies of fifh, to which Humboldt has 
given the appellation of Aftroblebus grix- 
alvii. This {pecies very much refembles 
the foregoing. "The pimelode (Pimelodus. 
cyclopum) is a very {mall fith. Great 
numbers of this fpecies are frequently 
thrown out by the volcanos of Peru, Co- 
topaxi, Tungurahua, and Sangay. This 
fifh does not abound in the neighbouring 
rivulets, whence there is reafon to fuppofe 
that it muft exift in the fubterranean lakes 
fituated in the mountains; as during vol- 
canic eruptions thefe fifhes are fometimes 
‘ejected in iuch prodigious numbers, that 
their putrefaction contaminates the atmo- 
fphere, and gives birth to peftilential dif- 
cafes. Humboldt, when treating on this 
fubje&, mentions that he has feen fifhing 
carried on in the caverns of Derbyshire in|! 
England, as well as in others near thofe 
of Gailenreuth in Germany, where are 
found the foffil remains of trout, grottos 
which are at prefent remote from any 
rivulet, and much above the Jevel of the 
neighbouring rivers. 
Lae 
